Joanne (Copperskye) Reads in 2026 (2)

Books Read in 2026:



January 2026
1. These Days by Lucy Caldwell, 4.5 stars
2. Heartwood by Amity Gaige, 3.25 stars
3. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff (audio) (reread), 5 stars
4. The Darkness Knows by Arnaldur Indridason, OTS#1, 3 stars
5. Orchestrated Death by Cynthia’s Harrod-Eagles, OTS #2, 3 stars
6. When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzen, OTS #3, 5 stars

February 2026
7. Evensong by Stewart O’Nan, 4.25 stars
8. Winter by Val McDermid (audio) 3.5 stars
9. Sylvester, or The Wicked Uncle by Georgette Heyer, OTS #4, 4 stars
10. Summer Half by Angela Thirkell, OTS #5, 3 stars
11. Standing By the Wall by Mick Herron, OTS #6, 3.75 stars

March 2026
12. Aunt Dimity’s Death by Nancy Atherton 3 stars
13. Death Watch by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, OTS #7, 3 stars
14. Nine Dragons by Michael Connelly, OTS#8, 3 stars
15. Buckeye by Patrick Ryan, OTS#9, 4 stars

April 2026
16. This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page, 4.5 stars
17. I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney, 4.5 stars
18. The Hour of the Wolf by Fatima Bhutto, 3.75 stars
19. The Hollow Land by Jane Gardam, OTS #10, 4 stars
20. The Star From Calcutta by Sujata Massey, 3 stars
21. The News From Dublin by Colm Toibin, 3.25 stars

May 2026
22. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, OTS #11, 4 stars
23. Go Gentle by Maria Semple, 4.25 stars
24. The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout, 4.5 stars
25. Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives by Lucy Mangan, 3.5 stars
26. Whale Fall by Elizabeth O’Connor, 4 stars
27. Miss Pinkerton by Mary Robert’s Rinehart, OTS #12, 3 stars
28. Fire in the Thatch by E.C.R. Lorac, OTS #13, 4 stars
29. Ironwood by Michael Connelly, OTS #14, 3.5 stars
30. A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhirst, 4 stars

June 2026
31. Out of Body: Stories by Chris Vanjonack, OTS #15, 5 stars
32. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, OTS #16, 5 stars
33. Whistler by Ann Patchett, 5 stars
34. Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart, OTS #17, 3.75 stars
35. The Monkey’s Raincoat by Robert Crais, 3.25 stars
36. The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett, 3.75 stars
37. Stalking the Angel by Robert Crais, 3.25 stars

July 2026
38. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat, OTS #18, 3.5 stars

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32. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

I put off reading this because, well, it sounded depressing - a young orphan, growing up in Appalachia, drugs, poverty, foster care. I knew it was an updated David Copperfield and I never had a desire to read that either. But I should have just trusted Barbara Kingsolver. What a wonder this story was and it’s been a while since I’ve so wanted a good outcome for a character that I flipped ahead to check out the ending when halfway through. A great story, beautifully told.

33. Whistler by Ann Patchett

Reading Demon Copperhead and then Whistler, back to back, may have spoiled books for me for the rest of the year. Whistler was thoroughly delightful and I didn’t want it to end. A book to make you feel there’s hope for humanity after all. A huggable book for sure.

Happy New Thread, Joanne! I’m glad you enjoyed your past two reads .

Happy new thread, Joanne. Are you going to talk about your son's five-star book? :)

I loved Demon Copperhead and look forward to Whistler. I will get to see Patchett and get a book on Tuesday.

>8 vancouverdeb: Thanks, Deborah!

>9 BLBera: I felt funny talking about my son’s 5 star book, Beth. I got to read a real, physical galley of my only son’s soon to be published book of short stories, a lifelong dream of his. I’m amazed by it all!

I’m envious that you get to see Patchett! I follow her on Instagram and love hearing her Friday book talks from Parnassus.

We had a pretty sunset on our evening walk with a perfectly placed single cloud in the sky. 8:36pm, I love these long days.

But the second one from last week was even better.

Deborah shared her recently completed puzzle and I thought I’d do the same. I don’t usually do puzzles in the summer but this Beachside Bungalow by Galison was calling to me.

And one more because I don’t think I’ve ever started a thread without a dog photo….

Here’s Finn on his second birthday.

And cats get equal time, so here’s Boomer on her 14th birthday.

Happy New Thread, Joanne. Hooray for Demon Copperhead, Whistler and pretty sunsets. Finn & Boomer are adorable too. I am enjoying The Things We Never Say and I have Whistler waiting in the wings. All good here.

Happy new thread, Joanne.
>13 Copperskye: - awwww. Good to see Finn up and about again!

>11 Copperskye: - I also love sunsets and see some great ones out my west-facing window.

>12 Copperskye: Love the puzzle. That one looks like it would be fun to do. I don't do "real" puzzles except when I have someone else to do them with (almost always that means "except when my granddaughter is visiting") but I do a small one (or two) on my iPad pretty much every night.

>11 Copperskye: Lovely sunset, Joanne.

>12 Copperskye: The puzzle is lovely too. You know how I enjoy my puzzles.

>13 Copperskye: Great pictures of Boomer and Finn.

Happy new thread, Joanne.

>14 msf59: Lucky you, Mark! I’ll bet you’ll love them both as much as I did!

>15 jessibud2: Hi Shelley, Thanks!

>16 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba, it’s fun to have someone work on your puzzles with you - it makes it special!

>17 vancouverdeb: Thank you, Deborah!

>18 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul!

Great photos, Joanne. I am really looking forward to seeing Patchett. We are making a trip to Birchbark Books, Louise Erdrich's bookstore first, then going to dinner before the Patchett talk. It should be a fun day. My goal is to bring home only Whistler, which is included in the ticket price, but...we'll see.

>20 BLBera: Oh, that sounds like a very fun day, Beth! I’m looking forward to hearing about it. Birchbark is another bookstore I’d love to get to. Best of luck with your one book plan. Frankly, I’m hoping you find an armload of other books to bring home! :)

Happy new thread, Joanne!

Happy new thread!

>22 drneutron: >23 witchyrichy: Thanks Jim and Karen!

Happy new thread, Joanne! Love all the photos! That puzzle looks wonderful! I wish I could spend a few weeks in it. :)

>25 Storeetllr: Hi Mary! Thank you and great to see you! Hope those grands aren’t wearing you out! :)

34. Airs Above the Ground by Mary Stewart

While dining with a friend, Vanessa learns that her husband is not where he said he was. So, along with the son of her friend who is traveling to meet his father, she travels to Austria and the site of a circus fire. There’s a lot of suspense as she searches and finds her husband. And the title gives it away, there’s a Lipizzaner and a trip to the Spanish Riding School. The characters are all well drawn and the dialogue is fun. This is only the third book by Mary Stewart that I’ve read and she’s really becoming a favorite.

35. The Monkey’s Raincoat by Robert Crais

I was in the mood for something Michael Connelly-ish and thought I’d try this new-to-me older series. Elvis Cole is a wise-cracking LA private eye and I thought the book was very noir-ish in this first in the series. It takes place in the mid 80s so there’s lots of pay phones which did remind me of the early Bosch books. Also a lot of descriptions of women and easy sex which seems eye rollingly typical for the time period. But I’ll read more (and I already am).

>28 Copperskye: I am in the mood for a good mystery, but I have yet to figure out what that book will be, Joanne. I'm glad you have enjoyed your past two reads, Dave used to love Robert Crais, but he has not been reading anything but the newspaper and magazines for quite some time now.

I read Mary Stewart years ago and have fond memories of her books.

>28 Copperskye: I was a big Crais fan back in the day, but I haven't read any of his more recent offerings. Not sure exactly why, but I think I just got tired of the tough P.I./sexy women trope.

The grandkids really can wear me out! We've been staying inside a lot the past week, what with the heat wave, making art and watching TV and having snacks. You wouldn't think that would require all that much energy. Hah.

Hi, Joanne! I love your photos -- both the sunsets and your dog and cat!

Whistler and Demon Copperhead sound like books I should read!

>29 vancouverdeb: Figuring out the right book for a particular mood is always tricky, Deborah. Not to be sexist, but I’m guessing Crais’s readership skews male.

>30 BLBera: I’ve found her to be very dependable so far, Beth.

>31 Storeetllr: Hi Mary, The tough PI/sexy woman trope gets old fast. I was going to start a John D MacDonald book but that stopped me. It’s been a while since I’ve read a Travis McGee book but they just say summer to me. Kids demand so much attention- I hope you’re resting today!

>32 tymfos: Terri! So nice to see you and thanks for dropping by! Both of those books were winners. I was very surprised by how much I loved Demon Copperhead.

36. The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

I almost bailed on this. The main character, PJ, was just too ridiculous, coddled by his ex-wife to the point where she cut the sad stories out of the daily newspaper. But I trusted my buddies here (thanks Karen!) and stuck it out. Once the party got on the road, I started enjoying the story more until I was thoroughly won over. I loved the twists at the end. A real feel-good,lighthearted book that managed to cover some serious topics and not be too sweet or too sad.

>34 Copperskye: Don't think that this one will be for me, but my good lady wife may quite like it so I will see if it has hit these shores yet, Joanne!

>35 PaulCranswick: It’s a safe bet that you probably wouldn’t care for this one, Paul! Not every book for everyone, but Hani might like it if she’s patient.